GBA Logo horizontal Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter Instagram YouTube Icon Navigation Search Icon Main Search Icon Video Play Icon Plus Icon Minus Icon Picture icon Hamburger Icon Close Icon Sorted
BS* + Beer

The BS* + Beer Show: The BEAM Estimator

A new tool for measuring the up-front carbon emissions of our building projects

Product phase (A1-A3) emissions are substantial and knowable, and we can take actionable steps to reduce them. Credit: Builders for Climate Action.

This episode of the BS* + Beer show features Chris Magwood and Jacob Deva Racusin talking about the BEAM Estimator, which launched in May 2022. We hear the story behind the carbon calculator—“a tool aligned with climate science”—before getting a glimpse of its functionalities and discussing its role in an industry uniquely positioned to take consequential climate action. Ben Bogie shares a builder’s perspective on BEAM’s useability, and the general conversation includes cradle-to-gate emissions as the most critical, mid-rise new construction and retrofit applications for the software, a critique of Life Cycle Assessments, and buildings as carbon-storing climate solutions, among other things.

Enjoy the show!

The BS* + Beer Show schedule

Episodes air the first Thursday of the month. The next show is on August 4, 2022, from 6-7:30 p.m. ET, when we will celebrate the launch of The Pretty Good House book. The authors, Michael Maines, Emily Mottram, Dan Kolbert, and Christopher Briley, will tell us about the book’s genesis, its content, and the pains and sorrows of the whole endeavor. We expect veteran editor Peter Chapman and publisher Mark Peterson, among others, to join the roast. Buy a copy before the show!

Bios

Michael Maines is a residential designer based in Palermo, Maine, specializing in energy-efficient homes, sensitive renovations, and custom kitchens.

Dan Kolbert is a carpenter and contractor, and for the past 10 years has been moderator of the original building science discussion group in Portland, Maine, where the Pretty Good House idea originated.

Emily Mottram is the founder and principal of Mottram Architecture, specializing in new homes and renovations that are beautiful, functional, comfortable, healthy, and durable.

Christopher Briley is principal architect at BRIBURN, a firm that designs and creates spaces that are energy efficient, durable, and environmentally friendly and that enhance the lives of their residents.

Use this link to register for The BS* + Beer Show

____________________________________________________________________

Kiley Jacques is senior editor at Green Building Advisor. Photo courtesy of Michael Maines.

3 Comments

  1. kentthompson | | #1

    Can I get more information on the new Sacramento chapter that was mentioned?

  2. Expert Member
    Michael Maines | | #2

    Kent, this is the company who is setting it up: https://goodspacebuilders.com/. I heard from Diana, their "Community Support Guru." (I love that title!) She said their first meeting is scheduled for July 28, and that she would forward more information when they had it.

    1. kentthompson | | #3

      Thanks!

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Related

Community

Recent Questions and Replies

  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |